Students Apply Science at Home for School Fair

From the “Fungus Among Us,” an analysis of bread molds, to an exploration of the role temperature plays in root growth, Santa Paula elementary school students are learning that science begins at home.

About 2,000 kindergartners through eighth-graders submitted 160 science projects in the school district’s annual science fair held this week. And to show kids that exciting science isn’t necessarily exotic and unattainable, the theme of this year’s fair was “Science in Our Own Backyard.”

“We didn’t do fantasy, we did real science this year,” said Dan Lang, science teacher at Barbara Webster School, a science and computer science magnet school that hosted the event.

For instance, 9-year-old Christopher Kapuscik looked at pest management techniques, examining how good bugs can control bad bugs on avocado trees.

“Chemicals won’t do anything, they’ll just kill the leaves,” he explained.

Melissa Villa, 10, studied the growth rate of seeds planted in different types of soil. Joevany Robles, 11, created a multimedia computer program that examines various types of trees.

Such projects have real-life application to the predominantly Latino students in the agricultural community, Lang said.

Many children have parents who are farm workers, and science projects allow them to learn there is more to agriculture than manual labor. Perhaps allowing youngsters to see the connection between education and agriculture will help reduce Santa Paula’s high dropout rate among older students in the years ahead, Lang said.

“They can make an educational choice . . . which is another thought we’re putting in their heads,” he said. “This year’s project is home, as far as I’m concerned.”

Parents who saw the fair agreed, said Principal James Medina.

“They’re very happy that their kids are doing something academically related to what they’re doing as a job,” he said.